End Gerrymandering Now!
Having read many of the comments posted here, I can only add my voice to those of the citizens calling for maps that are fairly drawn. The final maps must be, as one commenter put it, “compact, contiguous, and competitive, and open to public inspection and comment before approval.” As a citizen of Pennsylvania for my entire adult life, I am astonished and disheartened by how disconnected the legislature seems from the concerns of its constituencies. Gerrymandering certainly bears some of the blame. Legislative districts should be designed to ensure that the voices of ALL citizens are heard, not to amplify the voices of only one party or group. Back in 2014, political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page found that “Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.” To me, this feel a lot like what life is like for most Pennsylvanians. Our votes and voices go unheard or unheeded. We have the opportunity to change that here in Pennsylvania with a restricting process that is equitable and transparent.